Shahidan said although authorities were prepared to carry out cloud seeding, there was practically “no cloud to seed” as moisture in the atmosphere was being drawn to the Tropical Storm Bebinca that is hitting south China.

“The tropical storm is expected to make landfall today. When this happens, the situation is expected to change and we will see if the process can be carried out then,” he said.

The minister said when possible, cloud-seeding would be carried out in Muar and Ledang where a state of emergency has been declared as the Air Pollutant Index hit 750.

Meteorological Department director-general Che Gayah Ismail said the hazy condition was expected to see a slight improvement once the tropical storm makes landfall as it would weaken the south-westerly wind and “slow down the import of haze”.

Shahidan said the haze emergency in Muar and Ledang was administrative in nature and done so that resources from all ministries and agencies involved in managing haze would draw up and implement necessary measures to protect the public’s safety and health.